You know, this last week we celebrated Labor Day. Well, I’m not sure “celebrate” is actually the right word, because unless you have a horrible job and any day off is, by its nature, a celebration, Labor Day is probably just another national holiday that sort of comes and goes. But I’ll tell you, that wasn’t the case back when I was a kid. Labor Day was actually a big deal, and I’m not talking about the Jerry Lewis telethon. You see, for us, it represented the end of one thing and beginning of something new. I mean, for my entire academic career, school, college and seminary always started on the Tuesday after the Monday holiday; therefore, Labor Day represented the end of summer, you know, those care-free days of sleeping late and hanging out with friends and not learning a single thing for about three months. But it also marked the beginning of the school year, and with it, having to set your alarm and going back to the same old grind and of course, worrying about completing assignments and studying for tests and not ticking off the teacher or professor so much that completing and studying were irrelevant. You see, for me, back in the ‘60s and ‘70s and early ‘80s, Labor Day really did represent the end of one thing and marked the beginning of something else.
And you know, that’s what we’re going to be talking about this morning. You see, this is the fifth message in our series, I BELIEVE: Exploring the Apostle’s Creed. And as some of y’all know, we’ve already talking about what it means to say “I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,” and “I believe...in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,” and “I believe [Jesus] ...was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,” and “I believe [that he] ...suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.” Now, that’s what we’ve already covered.
And this morning, as we move forward, we’re going to consider the meaning and significance of the statement, “I BELIEVE...[Jesus] descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead.” And like I said a minute ago, for Christians, I think this affirmation represents a final ending and marks a new beginning. And I’ll tell you, for that reason, it can be really important for us as we live in the present and face the future.
For example, I believe Jesus’s descent into Hell represents a final ending, and I’m talking about the end of a reality that literally dominated creation from the time Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. You see, that reality ended when Jesus descended into Hell, something about which Peter wrote in his first letter:
Christ died once for our sins.
An innocent person died
for those who are guilty.
Christ did this
to bring you to God,
when his body
was put to death
and his spirit
was made alive.
Christ then preached to the spirits that were being kept in prison. They had disobeyed God while Noah was building the boat, but God had been patient with them. Eight people went into that boat and were brought safely through the flood. [1 Peter 3:18-20, CEV]
You see, Jesus’s descent represents the final end to the power of death and sin. Although both still existed, they lost their authority and control. I mean, in a very real sense, the crucified Christ didn’t just calmly and quietly and passively slip into Hell. No sir, it was more like he kicked in the gates, demonstrating that the cross is more than a symbol of defeat and suffering and despair. It also represents victory and liberation and power. In other words, when Christ stormed into the belly of the beast, it demonstrated his final victory over the forces of darkness, including death itself. And when he proclaimed the good news to those who were bound in Hades, it showed that the words of the Prophet Isaiah were being fulfilled and “
those who walked in the dark have seen a bright light. And it shines upon everyone who lives in the land of darkest shadows.” [Isaiah 9:2, CEV] And you know, it also revealed that there was no power greater than God: not physical death and not spiritual separation. I mean, it showed once and for all that Paul was absolutely right when he told the Romans “
...that nothing can separate us from God’s love — not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” [Romans 8:38b-39, CEV] You see, Satan himself was defeated when Jesus descended into Hell.
And I’ll tell you, I think that’s something we need to remember, especially when we’re facing hard times. You see, when we feel so disappointed and so discouraged and so frustrated that we just want to throw up our hands and give up and when the problems that we face seem so inexplicable and so overwhelming and so overpowering that we just want to cut and run, it’s at those times we need to remember that the cross also represents victory and that no one is beyond the love of God and that, as it says in the old hymn, there really is power in the blood. And because of that, man we can feel some comfort as we look within and a whole lot of courage as we move out. And why can we believe this? Man, that’s easy; it’s because, as the Creed reminds us, when Jesus descended into Hell, he broke the power of darkness and sin and death. In other words, it represents a final ending.
But you know, according to the Creed, on the third day Jesus rose again from the dead, and brothers and sisters, believe the good news, his resurrection marks a new beginning. You see, it marks the beginning of a tangible hope we can experience and the beginning of a new life that we can claim. And I’ll tell you, I think we can see both of these in what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians. To a congregation in which some folks were questioning the resurrection, Paul said this:
But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father.
Christ will rule until he puts all his enemies under his power, and the last enemy he destroys will be death. When the Scriptures say he will put everything under his power, they don’t include God. It was God who put everything under the power of Christ. After everything is under the power of God’s Son, he will put himself under the power of God, who put everything under his Son’s power. Then God will mean everything to everyone. [1 Corinthians 15:20-28, CEV]
Now that’s what he wrote, and I think that’s really important. You see, when Jesus was raised, two things changed. I mean, first, it marked the beginning of a new reality. In other words, it started a process that eventually will involve us all. It signified the coming of the general resurrection of the dead, our resurrection from the dead. Like Paul wrote, “
Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns.” [1 Corinthians 15:23b, CEV] Put another way, because the tomb of Jesus Christ was empty on that first Easter morning, the day will come when ours will be too. And we’ll be raised into a recreated universe, a redeemed heaven and a new earth, a totally renewed creation where “
...there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.” [Revelation 21:4b, CEV] Man, this awaits in our future, and we can see it when we trust in the resurrection. But that’s not all, because second, the resurrection offers us a taste of that new reality right here and now. As Paul wrote to the Romans in a passage we looked at last week, “
When Christ died, he died for sin once and for all. But now he is alive, and he lives only for God. In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But Christ Jesus has given life to you, and you live for God.” [Romans 6:10-11, CEV] You see, thanks to the resurrection we can claim a new life right here and now.
And I’ll tell you, if that’s what we decide to do, I mean, if we decide to trust that Jesus was raised by the power of God, we can experience a sense of hope we may never have experienced before. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the problems and the pain will miraculously disappear and that our frustrations and fears will magically vanish. So long as we’re living in this world, that just isn’t going to happen. Still believing that our resurrection is just around the bend and trusting that, when it comes, it’s going to be glorious, we know all the bad stuff we face is only temporary. Man, it’s going to end, and knowing that just might give us the kind of hope we need to see past the problems and the pain and fight through those frustrations and fears. And along with feeling some hope, if we decide to trust that, because of all this, our lives can change right now, man, that just might give us the motivation to do exactly what Jesus called us to do, and I’m talking about to “
go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you.” [Matthew 28:19-20a, CEV] and to obey that new command Christ gave to all his disciples:
You must love each other, just as I have loved you. [John 13:34b, CEV] And why will we experience this hope and feel this motivation? Man, that’s easy; it’s because, as the Creed reminds us, when Jesus rose from the dead, everything changed. In other words, it marked a new beginning.
Of course, this business about ending and beginning, well, for kids, that doesn’t really apply to Labor Day anymore. I mean, since most schools start their academic year in mid-August, if not earlier, Labor Day really is neither the end nor the beginning of anything, unless that is, you either have a swimming pool or enjoy wearing white shoes.
But I’ll tell you, as we consider this particular affirmation in the Apostle’s Creed, well, I don’t think that really applies to us. You see, I believe that Jesus’s descent into Hell really does represent a final ending, the end of sin and despair and death having power over us. And I also believe that Jesus’s resurrection marks a new beginning, the beginning of something that we’ll experience later but that we can taste right here and right now. You see, I think all this can happen because I BELIEVE...he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead.
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